modpib - Qualcomm Atheros PIB File Editor
modpib [options] filename
Change device identity parameters in a PIB file and update the checksum. Device identity parameters are the MAC, DAK, NMK and the Manufacturer, Network and User HFID. Collectively, they establish the device network identity.
This program is the safe way to edit identity parameters since only valid PIB files can be edited and only selected values changed. In addition, critical cross-parameter updates are automatically applied.
This program is part of the Qualcomm Atheros Powerline Toolkit. See the AMP man page for an overview and installation instructions.
-C mode
Set Central Coordinator Selection mode. Permitted values for mode are 0=Auto, 1=Never, 2=Always, 3=UserAssigned and 4=Covert.
-D xx:xx:xx:xx:xx:xx:xx:xx:xx:xx:xx:xx:xx:xx:xx:xx
The new Device Access Key (DAK). This key will replace the original DAK. Keys are 16 hex octet strings. Octets may be seperated by optional colons. The symbol none, key1 or key2 may be specified in place of a hexadecimal string, for convenience. Use program hpavkey to compute the DAK for a specific password, if required.
-L level
Set security level. The security level is written into the PreferredNID. Level 0 enables pushbutton pairing. Level 1 disables it. The default secutity level is 0.
-M xx:xx:xx:xx:xx:xx
The new Media Access Control (MAC) address. This address will replace the original address, if specified. Addresses are 6 hex octet strings. Octets may be seperated by optional colons. Qualcomm Atheros powerline devices derive their MAC address from their PIB and each device on a network must have a unique address. To facilitate the assignement of unique addresses, substituting the word "auto", "next" or "plus" will cause the original MAC address to be incremented before a new checksum is calculated. Successive uses of this option will continue to increment the stored address. You can inspect the stored MAC address with "chkpib -v pibfile".
-N xx:xx:xx:xx:xx:xx:xx:xx:xx:xx:xx:xx:xx:xx:xx:xx
The new Network Membership Key (NMK). This key will replace the original NMK, create a new PreferredNID and clear the AVLNMembership bit. Keys are 16 hex octets. Optionally, octets may be seperated colons. The symbol key1 or key2 can be specified in place of a hexadecimal string, for convenience. Use program hpavkey to compute the NMK from a specific password, if required.
-P filename
The specified file is loaded from disk and written into the prescaler section of the PIB. This file must be in the format used by the Qualcomm Atheros Windows Device Manager, which is a two column file, each column consisting of 8 ASCII alpha-numeric characters. The first column corresponds to the array index value (00000000 through 00001155, decimal), and the second column is the value stored at that position in the prescaler array (00000000 through 000000ff, hexadecimal). The two columns may be separated by any whitespace characters when using this tool. However, for full compatibility with the Windows Device Manager it is advised to use a single space between the columns. The ’#’ character may also be used at the start of a line to denote a comment.
-S string
The new manufacturing string. The maximum length is 63 characters.
-T string
The new network name string. The maximum length is 63 character.
-U string
The new username string. The maximum length is 63 characters.
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-q |
Enable quiet mode. This option has no effect at present. | ||
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-v |
Print PIB identity parameters on stdout after changes have been applied. This option helps verify that changes have been applied correctly. It can also be used, without changes, to merely inspect existing parameters. |
-?,--help
Print program help summary on stdout. This option takes precedence over other options on the command line.
-!,--version
Print program version information on stdout. This option takes precedence over other options on the command line. Use this option when sending screen dumps to Qualcomm Atheros Technical Support so that they know exactly which version of the Linux Toolkit you are using.
filename
The name of the PIB file to be modified. No assumptions are made based on filename and no filename conventions are enforced.
Encryption keys are long, tedious to type and prone to error. For convenience, symbolic names may be used to specify the key for options -D and -N. Symbolic name "none" translates to zeros. Symbolic name "key1" translates to the HomePlug AV compliant key for pass phrase "HomePlugAV". Symbolic name "key2" translates to the HomePlug AV compliant key for pass phrase "HomePlugAV0123". The actual key that is generated for key1 or key2 will differ depending on context.
The following example replaces the MAC address in pib file abc.pib and computes a new checksum. The input file is over-written. A command like this one can be used to establish the start MAC address when downloading a series of PIBs.
# modpib -M 00:b0:52:DA:DA:FF abc.pib
The following example increments the MAC address in pib file abc.pib and computes a new checksum. The word auto, next or plus, in place of a MAC address, will increment the old address each time the command is executed. This command can be used to ensure that unique and consecutive MAC addresses are used each time a PIB is downloaded.
# modpib -M auto abc.pib
The following command updates pib file abc.pib with the DAK and NMK read from the device connected to eth0. In similar fashion, program rkey can be used to compute random key values from a keyfile.
# modpib -D $(int6kid -Di eth0) -N $(rkey secret.key -M) abc.pib
The following example displays the current value of keys and strings stored in pib file abc.pib because option -v is present. This can be used to verify PIB identity settings before or after an edit.
# modpib -v
abc.pib
PIB 4-4 15560 bytes
MAC 00:B0:52:00:00:01
DAK 68:9F:07:4B:8B:02:75:A2:71:0B:0B:57:79:AD:16:30
(HomePlugAV)
NMK 50:D3:E4:93:3F:85:5B:70:40:78:4D:F8:15:AA:8D:B7
(HomePlugAV)
NID B0:F2:E6:95:66:6B:03
NET Qualcomm Atheros Enabled Network
MFG Qualcomm Atheros HomePlug AV Device
USR Qualcomm Atheros Enabled Product
CCo Auto
MDU N/A
PIB file structure and content is proprietary to Qualcomm Atheros, Ocala FL USA. Consequently, public information is not available. Qualcomm Atheros reserves the right to modify PIB file structure or content in future firmware releases without any obligation to notify or compensate users of this program.
chkpib(7), chkpib2(7), getpib(7), modpib(1), pib2xml(1), pibcomp(1), pibdump(1), setpib(1), xml2pib(1)
Nathaniel
Houghton
Charles Maier